The only building ever constructed on this earth which was perfect from its very beginning in every detail, and never again needed attention, addition or alteration, was the wilderness tabernacle.  Every single detail was designed by Almighty God, and every part had a prophetic, redemptive, and typical significance.  There is no portion of Scripture that is more perfect in it's teaching of the plan of redemption, than this divinely designed building.  God himself was the architect, and every detail points to some aspect of the character and work of Jesus, and, in its complete form, it is probably the most comprehensive, detailed revelation of Jesus, the Son of God, and the plan of salvation in the entire Old Testament.

The structure itself was 75 feet wide and 150 feet long.  The sides were seven and one-half feet high, surrounding the north, south and west sides.  At the eastern end was the gate of the court, the only means of entrance into this sacred area.  The gate was thirty feet wide, all the rest being enclosed by this white linen fence, suspended like a curtain on brazen pillars, the pillars themselves resting on a foundation of brazen sockets.  This enclosure was later called the Court of the Gentiles.

This court of the Gentiles always faced to the east, toward the rising of the sun, for it was a clear type of, and pointed forward to, the Sun of Righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior.  At the eastern end of this court stood a brazen altar and to the west of this stood the brazen laver or wash basin, containing water for the cleansing of the worshipers before they entered into the holy place of the tabernacle.  The altar and the laver were the only two items surrounding the tabernacle.

The tabernacle itself was a flat roofed, rectangular, tent-like building, located at the western end of this enclosure known as the outer court.  It was a portable building, fifteen feet wide, fifteen feet high, and forty-five feet long.  This space was divided into two compartments.  The front room, facing the east, was thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide and fifteen feet high.  This was called the holy place.  The rear room (separated by a veil from the holy place) was in the shape of a perfect cube, fifteen by fifteen by fifteen feet.  This was called the holy of holies, or the most holy place.

In the holy place, the larger of the two rooms, were three pieces of furniture; the dining table on the north side, the lamp on the south side, and between these and slightly to the rear, was the altar of incense.  In the smaller room, called the holy of holies, and behind the veil which hid them from view, stood the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat.  There were exactly seven pieces of furniture, speaking of the perfection of Him to which all these pointed.  Every part of this building, every article of furniture, pointed to some aspect of the perfection of the personality and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, our meeting place with God, our "tabernacle."

These articles of furniture were arranged so that if we draw a straight line from the altar at the door at the eastern end, to the ark in the holiest place, bisecting the incense altar, and then draw a line at right angles to this line from the dining table on the north side to the lamp on the south side, we have a perfect figure of the cross, for all of this speaks of one thing, the beginning of our salvation, and the work of Christ performed for us on the Cross of Calvary.

The walls of the building were made of gold-plated upright boards, which stood vertically, each on two sockets of silver.  The boards, made of acacia wood, were completely covered with gold, each board fifteen feet long and two and one-fourth feet wide.  There were twenty boards each for the two long sides of the tabernacle, and six boards for the western wall.  These boards stood upright, next to one another, in their silver sockets (which were imbedded in the desert sand), and were united by five horizontal gold-plated bars which passed through golden loops attached to the boards, from end to end, uniting them all into one solid, rigid wall.  The inside of the tabernacle was decorated with solid gold on all its four sides.

The roof of the tabernacle was made of four layers of cloth and leather.  On the inside and forming the ceiling of the tabernacle, and the only one of the four coverings visible from inside, was the linen covering.  It was beautifully embroidered with gold, purple, blue and scarlet, and had figures of cherubim looking down on the worshiper.  Over this linen covering was placed a covering of cloth made of goats hair, which slightly overlapped the linen curtains.  Over this was draped a covering of rams' skins dyed a bright red, and over this and forming the outer covering was a great curtain of leather made of badger skins.  This covering was water and weather repellent.

The stranger standing on the outside of this building could see only two things, the white linen fence surrounding the court, and the top part or roof of the tabernacle itself, the outsider could see none of the inner beauty.

The person on the outside represents the sinner, the natural man without Jesus.  The priest on the inside represents the believer who has passed through the door, and appropriated the blood of the sacrifice at the altar and been washed by the water of the Word in the brazen laver.  He can truly be said to be "in Christ" because the tabernacle is a picture of Jesus.

Both the sinner on the outside and the saint on the inside see Jesus, but they see Him differently.  The sinner (or man on the outside) sees the linen fence, but it keeps him on the outside.  He also sees the badger skins which are drab gray, unattractive and dull.  The white linen speaks of Jesus' perfect righteousness.  Even the unbeliever must admit the perfections of Jesus morally.  Most unbelievers agree that Jesus was not an ordinary man.  They admire His ideal moral character, wisdom and teachings, but they do not see His deity, His virgin birth, His atonement, His precious blood, resurrection, or coming again.  Only the believer who has entered the gate can see these things.

There was only one way to enter this tabernacle and it was through the one and only gate which stood before the altar of sacrifice.

Jesus said:  I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved (John 10:9)

And again He said:  I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).

When the sinner enters that gate, he comes face to face with the altar of burnt offering, which is a perfect picture of the cross where Jesus made atonement for sin.  Next is the laver of cleansing which washes away all that sin.  Only then can he enter through the veil into His presence to feed at His table, walk in the light of the golden candlestick, and learn to minister to others at the golden incense altar.